Rooks

Rooks are recurring birds in the House whose appearances mark both the ordinary life of its nonhuman inhabitants and turning points in human affairs. They interrupt 16 as he writes a message, later greet Piranesi in the Sixth North-Western Hall, and gather with other birds around Piranesi and Sarah Raphael after the flood.

Encounters with 16

While 16 was writing for a long time, two rooks awakened by the unusual activity came to investigate. In the darkness, 16 first perceived two wild black shapes beating the air; startled, he leapt up with a cry of alarm. The birds’ arrival exposes how secluded his writing is: his intense concentration is interrupted not by another person, but by creatures responding to movement in the House.

16 shouted at the rooks to go away because he was busy. Piranesi, who had been observing him, was surprised by the sound of 16’s voice and departed silently. The birds thus become unintended witnesses to a private moment, helping Piranesi discover that 16 is present and occupied with a message without revealing its contents.

Recurrence in the Halls

The next morning, Piranesi set out for the Sixth North-Western Hall to read the message. The rooks greeted him noisily, but he had no time to stop and talk to them. Their familiar welcome contrasts with the urgency of his purpose: the message covered an area of pavement about 60 by 80 centimetres, and he hurried to see what it said.

Birds after the Flood

After the waters had fallen, Piranesi and Sarah Raphael climbed from the First Western Hall to the First Vestibule and up the Great Staircase, beyond the reach of the flood. There, rooks joined herring gulls, blackbirds, and sparrows, gathering on statues and banisters and chattering in their different voices. Piranesi reassured the birds that the water would soon be gone, while Raphael, startled by his words, said she did not understand.

The rooks’ return places them within the House’s continuing life after disaster. They appear first as curious, disruptive witnesses to 16’s secrecy and later as part of a lively gathering in a refuge shared by Piranesi and Raphael. Across these scenes, the birds remain distinct from the human conflict, yet their presence makes the House feel inhabited by more than its human visitors.